Trump defends Saudi denials
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued an exclamationmark packed statement Tuesday defending Saudi Arabia, undermining the CIA’s conclusion that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and effectively declaring closed the debate over whether to stand by the kingdom.
The United States “may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder,” Trump said, noting that both King Salman and his son, Mohammed, “vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi,” which Trump called a “crime.”
“Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” Trump said, contradicting the CIA’s high-confidence assessment that Mohammed ordered Khashoggi’s assassination.
Despite mounting evidence of the crown prince’s role, some of which the president has seen in briefings, Trump indicated that the importance of U.S. economic and national security interests — and in particular billions of dollars in arms purchases he said the Saudis would make — outweighed the need to establish whether Mohammed was involved and, if proven, impose punishment.
“They have been a great ally,” he said of the Saudis, and “the United States intends to remain a steadfast partner.”
The president’s statement, and further comments by the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, left little doubt that as far as the U.S. was concerned, relations with Saudi Arabia would continue as normal.